Inside Newlyweds Colton Haynes & Jeff Leatham's Love Story — and Why It Almost Never Happened!

Arrow and Teen Wolf star Colton Haynes, 29, and Four Seasons artistic director Jeff Leatham, 46, wed in Palm Springs Friday. Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE, the couple recalls how their love story almost never came to be.

HAYNES: Jeff and I were supposed to meet years ago. At the time, I was in Vancouver shooting Arrow and Jeff was still living permanently in Paris and hadn’t started living in Los Angeles. We were actually set up by two of our friends, [event planner Val Vogt and tennis star Serena Williams]. They said, “You two have to meet!” We were going to meet up for a date, but we ended up not being able to. And then years went by.

LEATHAM: It was Fashion Week in Paris — I’m still the artistic director at the George V and the Four Seasons here in L.A., so I go back and forth every month — and I was supposed to be on a plane on Sunday, but I wanted to get home so I got switched to a Saturday morning flight. I was standing in line at 7 a.m. with my assistant and I saw this actor guy standing there in his sunglasses. I said to my assistant, “Those celebrities. They have to wear sunglasses at 7 a.m.? They need to get over themselves.” Not knowing that it was Colton! So he gets rushed by VIP service through the airport. But then I’m coming out of the lounge of Air France and I say to my assistant “Oh my God! That’s Colton Haynes! That’s the guy that I was supposed to meet and date a couple of years ago!” So I ran up behind him and kind of hit him.

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HAYNES: He physically assaulted me! [Laughs.]

LEATHAM: I hit him in the back with my Louis Vuitton bag and he turned around and I said, “Hey, Colton.” And he said, “Oh, hey Jeff.” And we actually fell in love.

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HAYNES: There was this 10-second pause of, Oh, wow. That’s the guy that I stalked for a couple years back and who I was supposed to meet and now he’s hitting me with a bag in the airport. He grabbed my luggage and walked me to the plane and he was three seats behind me. We passed Post-It notes back and forth and ended up exchanging numbers. He wanted me to cuddle with him on the plane and I said “No, you’re moving too fast.” But eventually he just pulled me down and we cuddled. I got home and a day later I got this huge delivery of flowers delivered to my house with a card that said, “What movies are made of.” Everything started from there and it’s been this epic romance ever since.

LEATHAM: Love at first sight really does exist. A lot of people protect their hearts but you have to keep your heart and your mind open. That’s how you truly find love in life. Colton has been such an inspiration to me. We couldn’t be more different but our love is the same and I think that’s the strongest part of our relationship.